Scanners and fax machines provide a means to send electronic copies of tangible documents, such as paper documents, to others. Document processing devices include printers, facsimile machines, copiers, scanners and e-mail gateways. More recently, devices employing two or more of these functions are found in office environments. These devices are referred to as multifunction peripherals (MFPs) or multifunction devices (MFDs). As used herein, MFPs are understood to comprise scanners in combination with other of the afore-noted functions. It is further understood that any suitable document processing device can be used.
Document processing devices, such as MFPs, are frequently shared or monitored by users or technicians via a data network. MFPs, while moveable, are generally maintained in a fixed location. Users may send document processing jobs, such as a print request, to one or more networked devices. In a typical shared device setting, one or more workstations are connected via a network. When a user wants to print a document, an electronic copy of that document is sent to a document processing device via the network. The user may select a particular device when several are available. The user then walks to the selected device and picks up their job or waits for the printed document to be output. If multiple users send their requests to the same device, the jobs are queued and outputted sequentially. If a user wishes to scan, fax or copy a paper document, a user will also typically need to walk to the selected device to initiate the process.
Today, documents may readily be sent or exchanged worldwide. Many businesses have locations or employees in different countries. Also, many unrelated companies may do business across their borders. While there may be a common language that may be used for communications, users typically prefer to communicate in their own language. Communication in one's own language allows for faster and more accurate dissemination of information.
If a user wishes to share a document, such as one in their native language, they may choose to send their original version and make it incumbent on the recipient to secure a translation. A user may, in certain instances, have document translated before sending. This can place a substantial burden on the sender, particularly in situations when they are sending the document to multiple users versed in many different languages. With multiple language destinations, a sender will not be inclined to undertake multiple translations, coupled with multiple distributions of these translations, thus placing the burden on each recipient to translate the received document.